Welcome to the Summer 2021 Harvard General Store Newsletter!
She Said Yes at HGS!
Andrew and Meaghan love riding to HGS from Lexington.
love in the time of THE pandemic
By Scott Hayward
Falling in love while cycling isn’t easy. There seem to be so many coincidental necessities and inherent obstacles. For two people to even meet requires a long road of intended and unintended decisions. I like to think Meaghan and Andrew met shopping for new bikes or maybe waiting in the repair line at a bike shop. They may have each been interested in the same bike or fallen into a discussion about the merits of SRAM versus Shimano, or maybe they each had their hands on the same bike and their first encounter was a little tug of war, something like this:
He: (Tugging on the handle bar) Are you interested in this bike too?
She: (Tugging on the seat) Yes, It’s the last one he has on the floor. I was just trying to decide whether I should customize the gear package.
CK: (Enter salesman) Don’t worry, I have more in the back room. (Retailer to the rescue!)
He: (Some time later, in line at the cash register) Where do you ride?
She: I like to ride out to Harvard and back.
He: Really! Me too. (Awkward pause.) Maybe we could ride together sometime?
She: Sure. I was going on Saturday.
Love is born.
Bikes go fast, Is there time for conversation? I mean meaningful conversation? I suppose, when the road is flat and there is little traffic and you can ride two abreast and you’ve caught your second wind. It may be the best time for two people to get to know each other. On the other hand, out on the road, speeding along at twenty-five miles an hour, pumping away, breathless, running straight into a hill, up off the seat, grinding it out, heart racing, maybe not so much. Conversation stops, riders are driven deep inside themselves. Riding is an individual sport that is raced in teams. It tests your mettle and your ability to work with others. It can be a time of triumph or tragedy. However, it may be the perfect way to meet someone in a pandemic. Riders can easily stay socially distanced and still observe each other in the best and worst of circumstances and let's face it, Spandex does not lie.
“All the world’s a stage” or a stage set, as Hollywood would like us to believe. The General Store has been the backdrop for love before; whether it was Jo March and Laurie, Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, or everyone on the “Little Women” set losing their heart to Florence Pugh. It has seen its share of crushes, first dates and anniversaries. It is an honor for us to be the scenery behind the lives of two people who found each other, grew to love cycling together, and whose love was born, endured and triumphed in the time of pandemic.
THE CALIFORNIA SUNSET PIZZA
HOW TO personalize your PIZZA
AT THE HARVARD GENERAL STORE
Pizza pies made at the Harvard General Store are unique. They were conceived after weeks of tasting and critiquing other locally made pizzas along with a memory I had of a pizza parlor in rural Italy many years ago. That said, our standard pizzas aren’t for everyone or everyone’s palate. Most people love our spicy salty crusts, but some people don’t. Some people like more sauce, some people like more cheese. I actually prefer no sauce, no cheese, just spicy olive oil and garlic with onions and bacon...yum!
Although we haven’t actively promoted this idea until now, you can order your pizza any way you prefer and, except for extra toppings, there is no up-charge. Pizzas can be ordered over the phone (978-430-0062) or in person. We serve pizza Tuesday-Saturday from 5-8PM. If the regular pizza does not satisfy you, please specify when ordering:
Size: Standard (16”) or Personal (10”)
Gluten Free (10” cauliflower crust) or Vegan (The vegan pizza denotes a dairy-free vegan crust topped with “zucchini cheese.” However, it can be ordered with meat toppings as well as roasted vegetables.)
No Spice, No Sauce/More Sauce, No Cheese
Toppings as desired from our menu
A note on consistency:
We try very hard to be consistent with our pizzas; size, shape, amount of toppings, cook (doneness), and flavor. However, we aren’t machines, and every pizza is unique and thrown to order. The sauce is made fresh daily and the doughs are proofed for at least twelve hours before every service.
There will always be variations from one pizza to another, but I can assure you there is always someone standing nearby who is totally concerned with the consistent quality of the final product.
A note on our pizza and Patio staff:
When you support the General Store you are supporting local students. At the General we employ over 20 local high school and college students. Our entire pizza staff is composed of Bromfield juniors and recently-graduated seniors. Each night it takes five or six students to staff the pizza assembly line to produce the volume required on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night.
They get to eat a lot of pizza, and they develop self-confidence and learn valuable life skills at the same time, like how to be a leader, how to communicate effectively, how to accomplish goals through teamwork, how to take personal responsibility, and how to problem-solve through strategic thinking. Your tips supplement their pay.
Summer drinkers, summer not
Blood Orange “Mimosa”
I belong to a mixed family, summer drinkers, summer not. I don’t want to conduct a history lesson here, but suffice it to say, alcohol has played a major role in western culture, whether it be the sacrificial libations of the early Greeks, toasts at weddings, or the continuing secular observances of “drinks after work”, “it’s five o’clock somewhere” or “the sun’s over the yardarm”. Alcohol and ritual is not something that is easy for us to disentangle ourselves. On the other hand, I understand the need of the non-drinker, too, the “summer not”. They have to find a way to take part in these rituals without imbibing alcohol. They need “something special” as my son says. Here are a few summer ideas we put together from products we carry at the General Store, alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike.
NON-ALCOHOLIC
Spindrift makes great fruit flavored soft-drinks just as they are.
Watermelon Mint Spritzer
⅔ Watermelon Juice
⅓ Polar Club Soda (or Fever Tree)
3-ish mint leaves, muddled in a highball glass
Ice
De-seed, blender and strain your watermelon juice and combine with club soda and muddled mint.
Lavender Chamomile Italian Soda
Highball glass of ice
Lavender Syrup (Torani or similar)
12oz club soda
2-3oz chamomile concentrate
To make chamomile concentrate at home, steep 15 Chamomile tea bags to 1L of water and chill, preferably for 3-4 hours. Combine concentrate with lavender syrup and club soda over ice and stir with a long spoon. Top with heavy cream and stir once more. Enjoy as is, or add a drop of Copp Family Farm’s Lavender Honey, in-store now!
Matcha Lemonade
Our iced matcha combined with crisp Carlson’s lemonade and club soda over ice creates a refreshingly sweet, delicious drink that's a delightfully vibrant green!
alcoholic
Gin and Tonic
Step up your G&T game with Hayman’s Sloe Gin. It’s a different color, but that’s due to wild-foraged berries, giving it a slightly sweeter taste!
The HGS Package Store carries Empress Gin - a bright purple gin that gets its jewel toned color from butterfly pea blossoms, changes color with the addition of lemon or acid. We make this cocktail with lemon and tonic water!
Summer Shandy
Cold, 16oz pint glass (we just stocked Harvard zip code and bicycle ones in-store!)
12oz bottle of Wachusett Blueberry Ale or Woodstock Inn Lemon Blueberry Pale Ale
Carlson Orchard’s Classic lemonade to the top (will be about a 75/25 beer to lemonade ratio)
Spoonful of blueberries and slice of lemon to garnish
Blood Orange “Mimosa”
1 ripe blood orange or San Pellegrino’s Blood Orange Seltzer (with real fruit)
Prosecco of choice (we recommend Adami Garbel from the HGS Package Store)
We like a heavy hand of Prosecco and a floater of fresh-squeezed blood orange juice, or the San Pellegrino, or both!
Empress G+T with lemon
Left: Italian Soda, Right: Matcha Lemonade
what’s new in store
Johnny Putt Greens, Littleton brings robust flavored salad greens with microgreens, picked and packed every morning before 9AM! We feature them in our Spring Salad.
Jordan Bros. Seafood, Brockton arrives every Friday at 3PM. Check out the recipe below for grilled ahi tuna inspiration.
Pre-Order Seafood Menu Coming Late July- New England Favorites
Steamers
Cooked Shrimp
Raw Shrimp
Squid
Fat Moon Mushrooms, Westford are certified organic by Baystate Organics. They use only organic materials to grow them. All of our products are produced in a dedicated warehouse space in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley. The small staff is dedicated to a mission of growing great mushrooms and supporting the local farm community. They currently grow shiitake, oyster, lion’s mane and Chestnut mushrooms. We made a lion’s mane crab cake earlier this spring - try it yourself HERE.
Kitchen Sink Candles, Bolton, created by two chefs, has created a custom line of HGS and Harvard Town candles! In over six scents, there’s a beautiful soy candle for every room.
Copp Family Farm, Shirley has recently been featured at HGS with decadent jams (blueberry candied lemon, peach orange and strawberry rose are on sale now), adorable resin accessories and hand-bound pressed flower notebooks. Copp Family Farm is a small, not-your-typical New England farm run by a family with lots of restless creativity. They specialize in the creation of extraordinary preserves, salts, infused honey, handmade wood products, and are a grower of non-traditional flowers.
We are always stocking the store with new apparel, home and housewares, kitchen essentials and more! click through the slideshow below for some of our newest arrivals…
The Patio is in full swing!
Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights we serve table-service dinner from 5-8PM. Order your favorites like our Cheeseburger Royale and Kale Salad and additional seasonal and Patio-only specialties, including locally caught Swordfish Tacos, Summer Fruits Shortcake and our Spring Salad with goat cheese and local honey!
The Patio Dinner Menu can now also be ordered to-go Thurs-Sat from 5-8PM! Add on a few salads or orders of french fries with your pizza!
Reservations for our Patio dinner are recommended and can be made HERE. We’re dog and family friendly! Don’t fret if it rains - we’ve transformed the second floor into a dining room. When we’re not serving dinner, the Patio is open for you to grab your takeout, coffee and pastries or pizzas from inside and enjoy them outside, first-come, first-served.
Interested in reserving the Patio for a small event?
We’d love to help you host an event at the General. Patio space rental requests can be made by emailing hgsevents@harvardgeneralstore.com. Events on the Patio also receive an exclusive wine case discount!
CHECK OUT THE PATIO MENUS - CLICK HERE!
Tuna Wine Pairing
Tuna is another fish like salmon that is very flexible with wine, but I would always stay on the lighter side with reds. Our Tascante, Etna Rosso from Sicily would be a great option. For a rose, I would go with Pietradolce Rosato, another Sicilian wine and for white I would stay with the Pietradolce, Etna Bianco. The Tascante and Pietradolce wines are made from grapes grown high on Mount Etna just north of Catania. Climatically, Sicily is very hot, but because these grapes are grown at such a high altitude they ripen similar to grapes grown in Oregon or the Loire Valley in France. The volcanic soils impart an austerity that is perfect for the tuna. They are very special!
Grilled Yellowfin Tuna Steaks
From Scott Hayward, Owner
Yellowfin Tuna Steaks - Various sized portions
Along with our fresh salmon, haddock, cod and scallop delivery every Friday afternoon from Jordan Brothers come 8oz portioned Yellowfin Tuna steaks; deep red in color, and dense to the touch. These steaks will hold together on the grill and not fall apart. On the plate, they resemble filet mignons and are a great summertime alternative to red meat. Jordan Brother’s Tuna is always wild and line-caught off day-boats in the Gulf of Mexico. It is delivered to us one to three days after being caught.
This is the freshest tuna you will find in New England. In your fridge, in glass containers, the fish will last for days without getting that fishy smell or spoiling. I even freeze it and have not seen any appreciable loss of quality.
Quick and Easy Grilled Tuna Steaks
A 5 - 8 oz portion size is generous for one. If you leave a couple ounces on your plate, reheat the leftovers and have with a poached egg for breakfast or with a salad for lunch. Hot pepper jelly is a nice accompaniment.
Tuna
Olive oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Fresh squeezed lime juice
Tuna is simple; slather with olive oil, season with salt (it takes a lot) and fresh cracked pepper, spritz with lime juice, grill until done. The grilling until done is the hard part. These fillets are dense, but on a hot grill, cook rather quickly. I recommend grilling on one side for about four minutes, flip, and cook the other side for another four minutes or until the steak reaches an internal temp of about 120’. I use a thermometer because I find the steaks so dense, the touch method is deceptive. The “cook” should be symmetrical and the center should still be quite red, like a rare steak. Flaky and gray throughout is not good. You may have to experiment a little to get them just the way you like.
We serve the tuna with a mango and black bean salsa and a green salad.
New on the menu
INTRODUCING THE VEGETARIAN BREAKFAST BURRITO (BLACK BEAN, RED ONION, BELL PEPPER, CHIPOTLE MAYO AND SPINACH PRESSED ON A FLOUR WRAP) AND THE HUMMUS AND VEGGIE WRAP (VEGAN! SPINACH AND GREENS, BELL PEPPER, RED ONION AND HGS HUMMUS).
How to Order the New Caramel Delight Iced Latte!
Tastes just like the Girl Scout cookie! Order an iced latte, or cold brew, with coconut, salted caramel and oat milk.
Caramel Delight Latte
Craft Beers for the Summer Months, now 10% off!
Mighty Squirrel Sour Face - Berliner Weisse fermented with kiwi and raspberry to create a delicately layered sweet, tart, and refreshing beer.
Springdale Lavenade - The new, canned Lavenade uses a kettle souring process to impart bright, tart and refreshing acidity. Lemon and lavender flavor this beer, creating a balance between the citrus-like intensity of the lemon and the soft, floral character of the lavender. It’s truly a crushable summer can!
Image courtesy of Mighty Squirrel
Spotlight On:
Medusa Brewing Co., Hudson, MA
Lightrunner is a HAZY IPA with 6.4% alcohol content. intense stone fruit esters, tropical fruit and tangerine.
KrafTea KombuchA, worcester, ma
Local Lilac is A non-intoxicating alcoholic kombucha.
website and Store Updates
We are slowly transitioning away from our online store and towards more in-store shopping. Breakfast, lunch, coffee and cafe beverages will still be available to order online! If you would like a special order, such as wine or beer, give us a call and we are happy to help!
What’s Going on in Town?
Fourth of July Activities
The Harvard General Store will close early on Sunday, July 4.
The Bike Decorating Contest will be on the Common at 10AM followed by the parade at 11AM. Winners will receive a special gift from HGS!
The July 4th 5-miler will also take place this year!
6:30am 5 Mile Race Registration Opens
8:15am 5 Mile Race Starts
9:30am Fun Run (1 mile)
The race starts and ends at the The Bromfield School, Harvard MA. From Rt. 2 take exit 38A, Bromfield is on Rt. 111, 2 miles on the right. From Rt. 495 take exit 28, Bromfield is on Rt. 111, 2 miles on the left.
Refreshments & drive-though awards following the race - register here.
Visit us before the Fourth for BBQ essentials - desserts, wine, craft beer, kitchenwares and yard games.
Construction on the School
A live feed of the progress exists here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-zAxO9JMQ
